A review by midnightmarauder
A Map to the Sun by Sloane Leong

adventurous emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A Map to the Sun follows the story of two friends, Ren and Luna, whose friendship bloomed one summer. They become extremely close and spend just about every day together during that summer, until Ren moves away without saying goodbye. After that, Ren tries to move on, but the feelings come rushing back after Luna becomes the new student at Ren's high school.

This story was okay. I initially read it because by the synopsis, I felt that it would have lesbian undertones, or even a full-blown lesbian relationship. The undertones are there (Ren's frustration over Luna leaving seems much deeper than just friendship betrayal, and Luna's relationship with her boyfriend just seems to be one that she entered into out of boredom instead of actual attraction), but I wish there was some kind of explicit portrayal.

I did like the different topics that were covered in the book (such as addiction, self-harm, and grooming), but it just wasn't as detailed as I wanted it to be overall.
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